his innocence

prologue

New Classmate

I've been a curious soul since I was a kid. Exploring and trying new things is my thing.

Nothing teaches like doing it yourself—a fact for me.

At my age, I'm currently very curious about extreme sports. Katatapos ko lang sa gymnastics at cheerleading na sa totoo lang ay ang pinakamabilis kong pinagsawaan na experience. Surfing, snowboarding, and freestyle motocross are my favorites so far.

My heart was booming inside my ribcage. It felt as if it would come out anytime now as the gravity take me while I'm still a thousand of feet above the ground.

I screamed my heart out in the air. Before I realized it, a sense of relaxation washed over me.

Skydiving. Not bad too, huh?

Habang nasa himpapawid ay iniisip ko nang hindi ako magsasawa sa bagong subok na bagay na ito. I would probably do this once or twice every month. Depende.

Extreme sports are beyond fun!

But of course, minsan may mga hadlang rin sa mga pinaggagawa ko. Gaya ni Mommy na halos mahimatay nang malamang pinayagan ako ni Dad na mag-skydiving. Galit na galit siya kay Dad at siyempre lalo na sa akin.

I'm just sixteen, but I'm confident I can pull this off so why not give it a shot? I've got my license, I'm fully geared up with my parachute, and Dad would've nixed it if it was really that risky, right?

Okay, it's dangerous but still. . . Uulitin ko 'yon. Uulit ako kasi nagustuhan ko.

"Nag-skydive ka raw kahapon? Ba't hindi mo ako sinabihan, Kye?!" nakangusong turan sa akin ni Thelma pagpasok ko ng classroom kinabukasan.

"You should've told me to tell you," wika ko bago dirediretsong naupo sa upuan ko. Agad namang sumunod sa akin ang kaibigan at naupo pa sa armchair ko para kunin ang buong atensiyon ko. "Seriously?" bahagya kong asik.

"Seriously? How did you sign up for course? Which skydiving center? And may age restriction 'yon diba? Wala ba?" sunod-sunod niyang tanong, hindi alintana ang bahagyang pagtutulak ko sa pang-upo niyang nakapatong sa armchair ko.

"I just told Dad about it and that's it, I trained to jump solo," balewala kong tugon when I actually got license just for it."Get off," dugtong ko at sinamaan siya ng tingin.

Umalis naman siya agad doon pero nanatili siyang nakatayo sa harap ko, hindi pa ako tapos daldalin. Buti nalang talaga at hindi kami seatmate, siguradong magkakaproblema ako sa pandinig kapag nangyari 'yon.

"So maarte, Kyelia," bulong-bulong niya sabay irap. I also rolled my eyes at her and put my bag on my armchair. "Ang damot mo talaga! At least tell me how it was, please." Now, she's begging.

Nakatingin na rin sa amin ang mga kaklase ko. Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba maingay si Thelma o gusto rin nilang marinig ang sagot ko.

Nasaan na ba sina Adi at Jorge at nang mahila na nila palayo sa akin ang maingay na nilalang na ito.

"I almost had seizures during the fall! You know, it's accelerated free fall after all. I cannot breathe because of too much air," I said exaggeratedly para tumigil na siya. Pag sinabi kong nag-enjoy ako, madadagdagan nang madadagdagan lang ang mga tanong niya kaya mabuti nang iyon ang sabihin ko. I just want peaceful morning, for Pete's sake! It's Monday!

Namilog ang mga mata niya at halatang natakot sa sinabi ko. Gano'n rin ang iba kong kaklase na nakikiusyoso.

"OMG! Really?! It's as scary as it sounds pala, gosh!" si Thelma, sapo pa ang bibig. "But are you okay now?" may bahid ng pag-aalala niyang tanong ngayon. It made me feel guilty—just a little.